Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 53 - 51 Lucky to Death
Chapter 53: Chapter 51 Lucky to Death
Chapter 53 -51 Lucky to Death
So the two of them, one rummaging through the warehouse, the other tinkling away in the courtyard, were quite in sync. Shen Yunfang’s stomach only started to growl when darkness had fully set in, signaling to her that the day had gotten late.
She stood up, stretched her stiff back from sitting for several hours, and paced around until she felt better. Then she stepped out of the warehouse and saw Li Hongjun not wearing a padded jacket, just a thin layer of prison clothes, planing wood in the courtyard.
By his side was a pile of planks of various lengths, but not one complete wooden box.
“Aren’t you cold in that? Why not go in and put on a padded jacket,” Shen Yunfang said, feeling cold for him.
“No need, I’m not cold,” Li Hongjun’s nose was sweaty from the effort.
“Hmm, you must be hungry. Why not take a break? I’ll go and cook,” Shen Yunfang said, somewhat awkwardly.
“I’ll keep going for a bit. I’ll come in once you’re done cooking,” Li Hongjun responded without turning his head.
Shen Yunfang didn’t insist, as having someone work so hard for her was a blessing.
Once back in the house, she wondered what delicious food to make to reward him.
In the end, she decided to bring out the best of her hoarded goods. She took out a wild chicken, a few potatoes, soaked some vermicelli, and cooked a pot of chicken stew with potatoes. Then she took out the little flour she had left, gave it a look, and decided to also use some cornmeal to make mixed-flour pancakes.
She then mixed some shredded cabbage and potatoes for a cold dish, balancing both meat and vegetables.
The chicken hadn’t finished cooking when she saw Li Hongjun enter the house with a serious expression, carrying a small stool.
“What’s the matter?” Shen Yunfang could tell something was up just by looking at him.
Li Hongjun carefully closed the door, then turned around and swiftly pulled the curtains closed while turning on the light.
Shen Yunfang’s heart jumped. What was he up to? Was he thinking of assaulting her? If she screamed, would anyone come to her rescue?
Of course, she was just thinking about this; with her bean sprout-thin figure, only someone extremely desperate would lay a sinful hand on her.
Li Hongjun walked over to Shen Yunfang, pulled her to the edge of the kang bed, and then pushed the small stool forward. “I just found this,” he said.
Shen Yunfang looked doubtfully at the small stool in front of her, then followed his pointing to see something, and her eyes widened. She snatched it over.
It turned out that the stool was broken. The top of the stool was double-layered, secured at each of the four edges with screws. Li Hongjun had originally intended to remove the screws to use them for the wooden boxes, but discovered that there were circular holes between the two layers of wood, forming a hidden compartment when put together.
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“Is this for real?” Shen Yunfang extracted a square jewelry box from the hole and carefully opened it, dazzled by the green color inside.
Even with her limited experience, she knew what was in the box.
Jade, a box full of jade jewelry, and judging by the quality, the greenest bracelet was likely Imperial Green. This, this…
“It should be real,” Li Hongjun said with a somber expression. He was thinking about how to deal with these items, but seeing the little girl’s face shift from surprise to delight made him happy as well.
“Do you like it?” As a soldier, upon accidentally uncovering this ill-gotten wealth, he should have reported it to the state according to regulations, since such items could very well be remnants of feudal dross. But seeing his future wife’s shining face, he couldn’t help teasing her a bit.
“I like it.” Shen Yunfang’s answer was very certain, what woman doesn’t like these things? However, it wasn’t until after she replied that she remembered the man beside her was a soldier. In those days, the interests of the country were above all else, and soldiers wouldn’t take even a needle or a thread from the state, even if it meant sacrificing their own interests.
With this in mind, she subtly hid the entire jewelry box behind her. If it weren’t for worrying about exposing the space, she would have wanted to tuck the jewelry box into her own special storage space right then, keeping it away from prying eyes.
Li Hongjun was amused by her silly antics. How could this woman have so many expressions?
“Since you like it so much, take good care of it,” Li Hongjun said generously.
Shen Yunfang hadn’t expected him to agree so easily and was momentarily stunned.
“However, it’s best not to show it to others for the time being,” Li Hongjun considered for a moment before adding.
Shen Yunfang understood. Those who had such things were now living in cowsheds—how could she be foolish enough to flaunt these items right now?
“If someone happens to see it, just say it’s from me, understand?” Li Hongjun quickly ran through potential scenarios in his mind.
“Mhm, I understand. I won’t wear them now.” She would put the items away in her space later on and wait until the reform and opening up to take them out.
Seeing that she really took his advice to heart, Li Hongjun didn’t say anything more. He instructed her to store them well before turning around to resume his search for nails.
“Take another careful look around to see if anything ‘s been hidden,” Shen Yunfang remembered to say as he walked out of the house. She had been here for several days, toiling and finding only a few books, whose value she was uncertain of, and some pretty plates and bowls.
And look at that man, in just a few hours, he’d found such a treasure. His luck was so good it was infuriating!
Li Hongjun almost stumbled at her words; turning back to see his future wife’s bright and shiny eyes, he found himself unable to voice any criticism. Keeping his wife happy was a husband’s duty, and he had to keep trying harder.
“Where did you get this wild chicken?” Li Hongjun could tell after one bite of the chicken—it wasn’t domestic, it was wild. They would sometimes hunt game to stave off hunger during field training.
Shen Yunfang clicked her tongue. Was he a dog? To have such a discerning taste for wild chicken.
“I caught it myself in the mountains,” Shen Yunfang admitted honestly.
Far from feeling that there was anything wrong with hunting, she was actually quite proud to show off her wits and ability. Ordinary people couldn’t catch a wild chicken with a basket if they tried.
“You don’t have any food to eat?” Li Hongjun felt this was unacceptable. Although most of the country was unable to have their fill at that time, the life of farmers in their area was still decent. Was it possible that the people of Gaijiatun were bullying her just because she was a girl?
But that couldn’t be. Wasn’t her great-uncle the head of the production team?
“There is food,” Shen Yunfang poked her bowl with her chopsticks, “just no meat.” She never knew she was a carnivore. Previously, she ate vegetarian for diet and health daily, but since coming here, in a few months, she found herself craving meat desperately.
After thinking about it, Li Hongjun realized he couldn’t solve this problem, “Starting next month, I’ll send you some more money.”
Shen Yunfang pursed her lips. “It’s not a matter of money. Even with money, without ration coupons, you can’t buy meat.”
Li Hongjun thought about it and agreed, he was at a loss as well.
If he was home, he could at least go into the mountains and catch a couple of rabbits to satisfy her craving. But with the current situation, he was powerless to do so.
